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Gary Dallison

Posted - 07 Feb 2014 : 16:15:49 I found this quote in code of the harpers which may help narrow down where Bane's church originate

quote:The lands around the Inner Sea (particularly the Vilhon Reach) have always been fertile and over-populated, sending forth periodic waves of explorers seeking their fortunes elsewhere in theRealms, as things become too crowded.Unlike the orcs, who do the same thing in the North, sweeping south in vast raiding hordes whenever overcrowding makes them restless (usually about once a decade), these men came to settle. With them they brought all the concerns and doings of men in the Old Empires#151; including the cruel faiths of evil gods, often driven out of their warmer homelands by their fearful neighbors. These included those who worshipped Bane, Bhaal, Loviatar, and Myrkul, and these decadent faiths joined the followers of Malar, the Lord of the Hunt, in the ranks of #147;priesthoods that are violent#148; in the North.

Now this was mentioned in a section about the founding of the Harpers and what happened to them after the fall of Myth Drannor.

So we have a likely possibility that Bane, Bhaal, and Myrkul's priesthood originated in the lands around the Sea of Fallen Stars possibly centred on the Vilhon Reach.

So maybe Bane's church did originate in Mourktar which may not be in the Vilhon Reach but is on the Sea of Fallen Stars.

And maybe Stellac Benadi was Imperceptor of that church in Mourktar before being named High Imperceptor by Bane and travelling to Flostren's Hold to establish an subterranean empire to Bane.

Anyway just thought i would share

25 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First)

cpthero2

Posted - 08 Oct 2018 : 16:17:38 Great Reader dazzlerdal,

Ahhh.......that makes sense then. I don't find it heretical.

Fun is fun man. I think that's great you do what you do in your campaign!

Best regards,

quote:Originally posted by dazzlerdal

I'm afraid I'm somewhat a heretic on these boards when it comes to realmsian gods.

I follow a non god centric design wherein the god may take no active role in the realms unless called upon. He may manifest a magical effect if asked, he may send an Avatar if asked, but otherwise the gods do nothing in person. Direct communication is not allowed (talking to a multiphasic being of a higher ascension will blow a humans brain into tiny pieces), they can however send visions but it's a distorted jumble of sensory components and the receiver has no way of knowing who sent the vision.

So if myrkul wants to get worshippers among the tuigan (who revere beasts and ancestors and hate western religions, thinking them weak and cowardly). Then he has to send a vision to someone he think will understand and be capable of carrying out his wishes. Then that poor sod has to travel to the endless wastes and try not to get slaughtered, while convincing the tribal to worship myrkul (who will desecrate the bodies of their dead).

Success rate is as you can imagine, going to be low.

But I like chance and unintended consequences so myrkul might send the vision to a high priest who writes it down and misinterprets it and who is eventually driven mad by the nonsense visions. He flees into the wastes and undergoes lichdom and then dominates a number of the nearby tribals and sends them against caravans to gather more bodies and worshippers. It might not be what was originally intended (or maybe it was) but I prefer it when nothing goes to plan, because I find life is often like that in many ways.

I follow a non god centric design wherein the god may take no active role in the realms unless called upon. He may manifest a magical effect if asked, he may send an Avatar if asked, but otherwise the gods do nothing in person. Direct communication is not allowed (talking to a multiphasic being of a higher ascension will blow a humans brain into tiny pieces), they can however send visions but it's a distorted jumble of sensory components and the receiver has no way of knowing who sent the vision.

So if myrkul wants to get worshippers among the tuigan (who revere beasts and ancestors and hate western religions, thinking them weak and cowardly). Then he has to send a vision to someone he think will understand and be capable of carrying out his wishes. Then that poor sod has to travel to the endless wastes and try not to get slaughtered, while convincing the tribal to worship myrkul (who will desecrate the bodies of their dead).

Success rate is as you can imagine, going to be low.

But I like chance and unintended consequences so myrkul might send the vision to a high priest who writes it down and misinterprets it and who is eventually driven mad by the nonsense visions. He flees into the wastes and undergoes lichdom and then dominates a number of the nearby tribals and sends them against caravans to gather more bodies and worshippers. It might not be what was originally intended (or maybe it was) but I prefer it when nothing goes to plan, because I find life is often like that in many ways.

cpthero2

Posted - 08 Oct 2018 : 15:16:24 Great Reader dazzlerdal,

I see your point there. I was thinking though, as I was just having a conversation with Master Rupert about this the other day regarding how evil gods that are not necessarily welcome in places, would still get the word out about them and gain the power from acknowledgement that they seek. If Myrkul had influence over the Tuigan tribes, so as they hunted, killed, and plundered as they do, the word gets out about the god of Death being a part of this. The fear associated with the evil barbarians doing what they do, being supported or somehow associated with the god of Death would be terrifying. It would spread the word of those barbarians to be feared, at the same time, expanding on the known presence of Myrkul. The Golden Way does after all go right through there to Kara-tur. What better way to get the word out than to have those caravans constantly being harassed, etc. by those "death cultists" to garner belief in the power of the god of Death?

Just some random musings I suppose though.

Best regards,

quote:Originally posted by dazzlerdal

Well, given that there is no conquering force of death in the hordelands I don't see it having been created by myrkul.

I'm picturing myrkul as obsessed with magic, like many others throughout the millennia. Being raised in murghoms he was exposed to the magical might of Mulhorand and then imaskar (I'm imagining he followed the footsteps of set and tarnoth in his quest for knowledge). After his experiments were discovered and he was exiled the nearest magically mighty empires are the fledgling nations of raumathar and narfell.

From there he could in theory have gone to the endless wastes but that region is not known for its magical might. It was ruled by imaskari a long time ago but it was mostly a slave protectorate. It's now a wasteland once more.

In narfell however I think he came across larloch who was ruling narfell from the shadows (I also have it as that's where he meets bane, but that's just my pet origin for bane). Larloch comes from Netheril and Netheril is magically mighty indeed so that is the next destination.

In Netheril they meet Bhaal and come up with their plan to achieve godhood by draining the power from semi divine beings (primordials, demigods, godkings, etc).

After Netheril falls they head to jhaamdath and at this point their partnership breaks apart.

Well that's where I'm headed with them anyway. They are scavengers of magical lore from all the regions of faerun, bringing it together to help their goal of becoming gods

Gary Dallison

Posted - 08 Oct 2018 : 14:54:33 Well, given that there is no conquering force of death in the hordelands I don't see it having been created by myrkul.

I'm picturing myrkul as obsessed with magic, like many others throughout the millennia. Being raised in murghoms he was exposed to the magical might of Mulhorand and then imaskar (I'm imagining he followed the footsteps of set and tarnoth in his quest for knowledge). After his experiments were discovered and he was exiled the nearest magically mighty empires are the fledgling nations of raumathar and narfell.

From there he could in theory have gone to the endless wastes but that region is not known for its magical might. It was ruled by imaskari a long time ago but it was mostly a slave protectorate. It's now a wasteland once more.

In narfell however I think he came across larloch who was ruling narfell from the shadows (I also have it as that's where he meets bane, but that's just my pet origin for bane). Larloch comes from Netheril and Netheril is magically mighty indeed so that is the next destination.

In Netheril they meet Bhaal and come up with their plan to achieve godhood by draining the power from semi divine beings (primordials, demigods, godkings, etc).

After Netheril falls they head to jhaamdath and at this point their partnership breaks apart.

Well that's where I'm headed with them anyway. They are scavengers of magical lore from all the regions of faerun, bringing it together to help their goal of becoming gods

cpthero2

Posted - 08 Oct 2018 : 14:28:31 Great Reader dazzlerdal,

What do you think of Myrkul heading into the Endless Wastes, and trying to convert that conquering horde of Tuigan's into a directed force of death? What better force to do so. Especially when Tempus would likely welcome such a thing, and what a pair of allies that would make!

Best regards,

quote:Originally posted by dazzlerdal

Well myrkuls place of birth and country of origin do not mean his church originated in those lands.I've found no indication that the church of myrkul originated in murghom.

I've been sprinkling some myrkul hints into the old empires region as I develop it. Thus far I have him as the he is to murghom around -600DR, he is then exiled for his experimentation with imaskari magic (which might bring the wrath of Mulhorand on murghom) on a few tribes in raurin (there are perytons in cormyr that have a story linked to raurin and the dark gods).

Myrkul leaves and heads into thay, then onto raumathar and narfell. Meanwhile myrkuls kin (lesser cousins who formed his honour guard) are captured and twisted using the same imaskari magics that myrkul used (A kind of karmic retribution). Now for me I have Al Hanar who escaped retribution and formed a military order that still serves Myrkul. Ak Chazar are now a type of cat headed fiend that has infiltrated a group of former imaskari portal masters in Durpar but are now primarily a trade organisation.

Myrkuls church however I think doesn't begin until the tsunami of jhaamdath. It is little more than a cult running a protection racket so that they won't reanimated the many corpses lying around.

Bhaal heads South to Calimshan to setup his assassin cults. Bane heads east to chessenta looking for more godkings to drain so he can become even more powerful. At this point they are still material bound demigod, not fully fledged gods. Gradually however, as they die or otherwise shed their mortal form, they ascend to become true gods.

At least that's what I'm working towards gradually.

Gary Dallison

Posted - 08 Oct 2018 : 11:59:43 Well myrkuls place of birth and country of origin do not mean his church originated in those lands.I've found no indication that the church of myrkul originated in murghom.

I've been sprinkling some myrkul hints into the old empires region as I develop it. Thus far I have him as the he is to murghom around -600DR, he is then exiled for his experimentation with imaskari magic (which might bring the wrath of Mulhorand on murghom) on a few tribes in raurin (there are perytons in cormyr that have a story linked to raurin and the dark gods).

Myrkul leaves and heads into thay, then onto raumathar and narfell. Meanwhile myrkuls kin (lesser cousins who formed his honour guard) are captured and twisted using the same imaskari magics that myrkul used (A kind of karmic retribution). Now for me I have Al Hanar who escaped retribution and formed a military order that still serves Myrkul. Ak Chazar are now a type of cat headed fiend that has infiltrated a group of former imaskari portal masters in Durpar but are now primarily a trade organisation.

Myrkuls church however I think doesn't begin until the tsunami of jhaamdath. It is little more than a cult running a protection racket so that they won't reanimated the many corpses lying around.

Bhaal heads South to Calimshan to setup his assassin cults. Bane heads east to chessenta looking for more godkings to drain so he can become even more powerful. At this point they are still material bound demigod, not fully fledged gods. Gradually however, as they die or otherwise shed their mortal form, they ascend to become true gods.

At least that's what I'm working towards gradually.

cpthero2

Posted - 07 Oct 2018 : 18:45:53 Great Reader dazzlerdal,

Well, I can say for sure that Myrkul was a prince from Murghom. Not really all that close, but it is in the Sea of Fallen Stars region.

Best regards,

quote:Originally posted by dazzlerdal

I found this quote in code of the harpers which may help narrow down where Bane's church originate

quote:The lands around the Inner Sea (particularly the Vilhon Reach) have always been fertile and over-populated, sending forth periodic waves of explorers seeking their fortunes elsewhere in theRealms, as things become too crowded.Unlike the orcs, who do the same thing in the North, sweeping south in vast raiding hordes whenever overcrowding makes them restless (usually about once a decade), these men came to settle. With them they brought all the concerns and doings of men in the Old Empires#151; including the cruel faiths of evil gods, often driven out of their warmer homelands by their fearful neighbors. These included those who worshipped Bane, Bhaal, Loviatar, and Myrkul, and these decadent faiths joined the followers of Malar, the Lord of the Hunt, in the ranks of #147;priesthoods that are violent#148; in the North.

Now this was mentioned in a section about the founding of the Harpers and what happened to them after the fall of Myth Drannor.

So we have a likely possibility that Bane, Bhaal, and Myrkul's priesthood originated in the lands around the Sea of Fallen Stars possibly centred on the Vilhon Reach.

So maybe Bane's church did originate in Mourktar which may not be in the Vilhon Reach but is on the Sea of Fallen Stars.

And maybe Stellac Benadi was Imperceptor of that church in Mourktar before being named High Imperceptor by Bane and travelling to Flostren's Hold to establish an subterranean empire to Bane.

Anyway just thought i would share

Icelander

Posted - 14 Aug 2018 : 16:22:03 I noted that in the Forgotten Realms Adventures book, the ceremonial knives that Bhaal's priesthood carry were specifically noted as being of an 'Eastern' design.

This lends some support to the idea that the people of the Heartlands of Faerun might view the faith of Bhaal as having some ancestral connection to eastern lands.

Gary Dallison

Posted - 11 Aug 2018 : 12:40:54 To get hold of George's article you just need to PM me your email and I'll send it along (or George, he will of course have a copy). It's good stuff, very useful for building stuff in Netheril and imaskar

Icelander

Posted - 11 Aug 2018 : 06:14:22

quote:Originally posted by George Krashos

Keep in mind that when the Faerûnian pantheon coalesced, it incorporated and subsumed many smal, regional pantheons and so a local “god of murder” is going to be known by its local name even after another deity has taken them over in the deific tumult (outside of mortal understanding) that occurs when this happens.

— George Krashos

Absolutely.

I'm entirely in favour of regional names for deities and mortals often having difficulty perceiving whether cults worshipping gods by different names are worshipping the same god under these names, different aspects of one deity or different gods entirely.

I'm simply seeking clues to the mortal existence of Bhaal, as we know Myrkul's mortal name and profession. As I noted, I've not noticed any clues in published Realmslore that suggests Bhaal might have been a Netherese arcanist in life. Nor, honestly, does Bhaal strike me as etymologically similar to those Netherese names I've come across in various supplements, whereas it is pronounced exactly like a title that would presumably have been common among the Untheri section of the Mulan.

Ba'al Mutu / Ba'al Mot / Bel Mot / Baal Mawet / Baal Mat / Bhaal Mawt / Bhaal al-Mawt ('Lord Death' or 'Lord of Death') sound to me like plausible linguistic variantions that make appropriate forms of the title for the Lord of Murder in a variety of Untheric-, Rauric-, Alzhedo-, Muhjari- and Midani-speaking areas. Bhaal might then well have been adopted as a shortened form of the deity's title and from there grew into the proper name for the deity in the modern Realms.

There is ample real world precedent for deities coming to be known as 'Lord' or 'the Lord' and losing any unique proper name they might have had, after all, including one who came to be known as Ba'al / Baal ('Lord') in exactly this manner. For mythology nerds, it's also fun to note that Mot ('Death')' the God of Death, slew Ba'al ('the Lord'), a benign god, in an Ugaritic legend.

Bhaal's divine name as member of the Faerunian pantheon being a title with a simple meaning of 'Lord' also seems to fit with the third member of the Dark Three and his name. The inner monologue of Bane's avatar in Stormlight suggests that that deity views his moniker as a title or appelation with the common English meaning of 'Bane', not merely a name that hapens to sound like it. Something like: 'They name me FOE. How apposite.'

The Dark Three as I might venture guesses at them in life:

Bane: A mortal with some kind of fiendish blood from another world than Toril, a powerful warlord. Name as a mortal unknown, but might have been Bane and might not. For that matter, he might even be linked by blood or cosmic synergy to an Outer Planar deity also named Bane, never a mortal and only present in the Realms through the mortal Bane, who achieved godhood there.Bhaal: A mortal either from Calimshan / Shoon Empire / Tethyr or a post-Imaskari realm like Semphar or Solon, a powerful assassin. In life, might have been regarded as a hero before entering onto his path with the Dark Three.Myrkul: Myrkul Bey al-Kursi, the Crown Prince of Murghom, a powerful necromancer.

TheIriaeban

Posted - 11 Aug 2018 : 05:53:20 Old Empires, pg 14 when talking about the Geography of Mulhorand: "Within this expanse are desert, ruins, mountains, fertile fields, and cities that were great 2,000 years before the first stone was placed on Waterdeep, before the Zhentarium ever unleased an evil scheme, before Bane was even aware that the Realms existed, a time when the world was young, even to the elves." That would seem to confirm that Bane is not from The Realms.

George Krashos

Posted - 11 Aug 2018 : 04:16:37 Keep in mind that when the Faerûnian pantheon coalesced, it incorporated and subsumed many smal, regional pantheons and so a local “god of murder” is going to be known by its local name even after another deity has taken them over in the deific tumult (outside of mortal understanding) that occurs when this happens.

— George Krashos

Icelander

Posted - 11 Aug 2018 : 00:32:20

quote:Originally posted by dazzlerdal

George Krashos mentioned Bhaals origin in his Jergal article Lord of the End of Everything. It's not canon but modern canon isn't worth a p**s and I take George's work as gospel over anyone (except other FR greats).

Where can I read this article?

quote:Originally posted by dazzlerdal

As for naming similarities and presence elsewhere. People can travel to other planes and take worship with them. I tend to view far off enclaves of a religion as a mistake by the narrator, he visited the area and found a sect of assassins who venerated a murder deity and assumed it was Bhaal.I also have my own theory where the multiverses is operating to a plan (like hitchikers guide to the galaxy) so each sphere keeps trying to reach the same endpoint in different ways and keeps creating the same elements of existence. So a being called Bhaal (or some variation of that name) keeps getting created through chance as the sphere tried to stick to a plan that has long since corrupted. These Bhaal can be spread over many millennia and thousands of miles and are all fairly similar but unique in their own way.It's why there are several Banes and why he keeps returning after death, it's why there are Tyrs all over the multiverses (There were 5 on Faerun). It's not the same god all over the planets and planes, it's different gods that arise to fulfil the same purpose through a design in existence.

The millennia and a half that Bhaal has been worshipped in Faerun has certainly provided enough time for his faith to spread to many cultures. It's just that in searching for the origin of a language or a mytheme (in historical linguistics known as the Urheimat), you search for a geographic area around which the greatest wealth of variations of that language or mytheme exist.

Hence, the theocracy of priests of Bhaal in the truly ancient realm of Guge and the Fortress of the Old Man in Sentinelspire are interesting finds that lead me to consider an ancient connection to the area for Bhaal. And the fact that Bhaal is known by different names in the area (e.g. Niynjushigampo in Guge, which I'd want to translate as 'Lord of Murder' in their language) supports an ancient native origin over a recently imported one.

Note also that Alaodin, the Old Man of the Mountain, was not just assumed by some Faerunian to be a worshipper of Bhaal. He was stated by the omniscient narrator to be a priest of Bhaal, in a place where Bhaal had been worshipped by a secret order of assassins for a very long time, and the text of The Horde specifically mentioned the effects on his temple and order of holy slayers of Bhaal's death in the Time of Troubles.

Add to that Bhaal's strong following in Thay and one might be excused for imagining an origin somewhere between Thay, the Sentinelspire and Guge, i.e. an area centering on the lands of old Imaskar, specifically on Semphar (just because it's roughly in the center of an imaginary circle drawn there).

I just haven't found anything in other sources that links Bhaal convincingly to other areas of the Realms as well. It's true that he's strongly linked to the Swords Coast and Boareskyr Bridge, but that's because of where he died.

Granted, Tethyr does seem to have strong connections to Bhaal's modern worship, which could suggest Shoon-ite roots or could just be a result of the recent upheaval in the area and the many, many assassinations that have been committed there in the decades leading up to Bhaal's death in the Time of Troubles.

Gary Dallison

Posted - 10 Aug 2018 : 13:32:10 George Krashos mentioned Bhaals origin in his Jergal article Lord of the End of Everything. It's not canon but modern canon isn't worth a p**s and I take George's work as gospel over anyone (except other FR greats).

As for naming similarities and presence elsewhere. People can travel to other planes and take worship with them. I tend to view far off enclaves of a religion as a mistake by the narrator, he visited the area and found a sect of assassins who venerated a murder deity and assumed it was Bhaal.I also have my own theory where the multiverses is operating to a plan (like hitchikers guide to the galaxy) so each sphere keeps trying to reach the same endpoint in different ways and keeps creating the same elements of existence. So a being called Bhaal (or some variation of that name) keeps getting created through chance as the sphere tried to stick to a plan that has long since corrupted. These Bhaal can be spread over many millennia and thousands of miles and are all fairly similar but unique in their own way.It's why there are several Banes and why he keeps returning after death, it's why there are Tyrs all over the multiverses (There were 5 on Faerun). It's not the same god all over the planets and planes, it's different gods that arise to fulfil the same purpose through a design in existence.

Icelander

Posted - 10 Aug 2018 : 12:25:14 Where can I find a mention of Bhaal's origins as an arcanist of Netheril?

Given the etymological similarities of his name to the Semitic title Ba'al ('Lord'), I have always imagined him as coming from a place in the Realms where they speak a Semitic language or somewhere influenced by such languages. That means anywhere that was once a colony of Unther (Westgate, Wizard Reach, Shaar, etc.) or anywhere they speak Midani or a related language (Zakhara, Calimshan, former Shoon colonies, Solon, Murghom, Semphar, etc.).

In addition, the fact that (almost alone of Faerunian deities), Bhaal was not only known in Guge and the Endless Wastes, but worshipped in ancient and powerful institutions, argued for a strong connection with the area.

In fact, the lands of former Netheril were among the parts of Faerun where it had never occured to me to consider Bhaal originating from. I mean, all the Dark Three travelled there shortly before they achieved godhood, but I was unaware of any other connection.

The Bhaalspawn provide a connection of some sort with the middle area of the Sword Coast, all of which was culturally influenced by Midani-speaking Shoon. Something made Bhaal select that area for his bid at rebirth and while this something could have been connected to events that occured while he was a god, it could also relate to his mortal life.

By the same token, the assassin order on the Endless Waste, led by the Old Man of the Mountain, seems in The Horde to be truly ancient and highly important to the deity. As in, if I had to pick the holiest slayers of Bhaal on Toril, that would have been my guess.

Gary Dallison

Posted - 10 Aug 2018 : 06:57:48 I shall weave that bit in but my initial thought is that Bane was a potential rival to the throne of Narfell so was raised elsewhere (another planet -because Narfell had a link to another planet that was lost (If you read the bits about thakorskils seat across the editions) and kept ignorant of his heritage until he came of age (for his protection).

Assuran was driven from Unther, and I had him travel to chessenta to hide (explains why he has strong religious support there still) because chessenta was only loosely part of unther (it paid high taxes but most hated Gilgeam).

Having a fight doesn't necessarily lead to a lasting feud. Both churches claim their God won the fight and ascended to godhood at the top of mount thulbane (in my version). The games arose from this contest with mock battles held each year that became a sporting competition. Even evil people can take things light heartedly occasionally.

Icelander

Posted - 10 Aug 2018 : 00:09:12

quote:Originally posted by dazzlerdal

Well George already penned Bhaal's origin as an arcanist of netheril.

Oh?!

Where is that to be found?

quote:Originally posted by dazzlerdal

Regarding Bane I can't recall ever reading a quote that says he was from another plane (apart from 4e, which often discounts FR lore so I often discount 4e lore).

quote:Originally posted by Old Empires p. 14

Within this expanse are desert, ruins,mountains, fertile fields, and cities thatwere great 2,000 years before the firststone was place on Waterdeep, beforethe Zhentarim ever unleashed an evilscheme, before Bane was even awarethat the Realms existed, a time whenthe world was young, even to the elves.The words Mulhorand and "eternity"are the same in the language of the Mulhorandi.

She fought closer to the shame and the trembling fear he so hated, that made him seek tyranny over others. This fear tasted like the tang of iron in blood, but came from a place weirdly different than Faerun. The mortal who had become Bane, so long ago, had come from . . . somewhere else, and still had secrets that he was fighting wildly to keep from her, secrets that he would keep hidden at all costs.

quote:Originally posted by dazzlerdal

I've read in many places Bane is a mortal (extraplanar beings are usually not classified as such). His fathering of a cambion (Iyachtu Xvim with either a greater tanarri or a fallen paladin) means he is likely of fiendish blood). Although Faiths and Pantheons says he was human.

Yes, mortal of fiendsh blood would work for me, as long as there was a time when he was unaware that the Realms existed.

quote:Originally posted by dazzlerdal

Thurgabanteth is a supposed former mountain in Chondath where Bane first entered Faerun. However it is from a tome (the Black Book of Chondath I think), and there is nothing to say the source is accurate, likely written by a follower of Bane and probably edited by other followers (all earth based holy books have been greatly edited).

Chondath did not exist until way after the fall of Netheril and Bane was present during Netheril's fall so he couldn't have first arrived when Chondath existed.

He arrived within the modern day borders of Chondath, which at the time would have been Jhaamdath.

quote:Originally posted by dazzlerdal

My idea is that he was related to the royal dynasty of Narfell (not necessarily born on Toril, and maybe not even on the Material Plane). He met Myrkul on his travels and followed him to Netheril where they encountered Bhaal. Together the three began harvesting divine energy from semi-divine beings in a bid to attain godhood. Leaving when Netheril fell.

The Dark Three I think were involved in the events in Jhaamdath. When that empire also fell they travelled again until they ended up confronting Jergal and dividing up his divine power amongst themselves.

At this point the Dark Three part ways. Bane returned to Faerun in Thurgabanteth and set about trying to create his own empire in the Vilhon Reach (which I'm tying to the Goblin Wars in that region). Driven out he moved east and tried draining a few of the godkings of Chessenta to gather more divine power. Ultimately he confronted Assuran atop Mount Thulbane and both vanished.

I don't think it contradicts anything. The appearance and growth of his church is not dependent upon him being a true divine being (him being semi-divine and still wandering the realms but performing awesome feats will still garner worship). His familial origin is from Faerun but he could also have been born and raised on another plane.

Sounds about right.

Though I do note that Assuran/Hoar and Bane do not seem to have had an antagonistic relationship in any source of which I'm aware and that it was clearly Ramman who drove Assuran from Unther.

quote:Originally posted by dazzlerdal

If Myrkul and Bhaal are originally from Faerun I thought why not Bane.

Well, merely because Bane was established in old FR lore as having come from elsewhere.

Regarding Bane I can't recall ever reading a quote that says he was from another plane (apart from 4e, which often discounts FR lore so I often discount 4e lore).

I've read in many places Bane is a mortal (extraplanar beings are usually not classified as such). His fathering of a cambion (Iyachtu Xvim with either a greater tanarri or a fallen paladin) means he is likely of fiendish blood). Although Faiths and Pantheons says he was human.

Thurgabanteth is a supposed former mountain in Chondath where Bane first entered Faerun. However it is from a tome (the Black Book of Chondath I think), and there is nothing to say the source is accurate, likely written by a follower of Bane and probably edited by other followers (all earth based holy books have been greatly edited).

Chondath did not exist until way after the fall of Netheril and Bane was present during Netheril's fall so he couldn't have first arrived when Chondath existed.

My idea is that he was related to the royal dynasty of Narfell (not necessarily born on Toril, and maybe not even on the Material Plane). He met Myrkul on his travels and followed him to Netheril where they encountered Bhaal. Together the three began harvesting divine energy from semi-divine beings in a bid to attain godhood. Leaving when Netheril fell.

The Dark Three I think were involved in the events in Jhaamdath. When that empire also fell they travelled again until they ended up confronting Jergal and dividing up his divine power amongst themselves.

At this point the Dark Three part ways. Bane returned to Faerun in Thurgabanteth and set about trying to create his own empire in the Vilhon Reach (which I'm tying to the Goblin Wars in that region). Driven out he moved east and tried draining a few of the godkings of Chessenta to gather more divine power. Ultimately he confronted Assuran atop Mount Thulbane and both vanished.

I don't think it contradicts anything. The appearance and growth of his church is not dependent upon him being a true divine being (him being semi-divine and still wandering the realms but performing awesome feats will still garner worship). His familial origin is from Faerun but he could also have been born and raised on another plane.

If Myrkul and Bhaal are originally from Faerun I thought why not Bane.

I find it credible that Bhaal might in life have come from somewhere near Semphar, given that he's known under a native name in Guge and that the Old Man of the Mountain ruled over a powerful centre of his faith in the Endless Wastes. Still, that's not conclusive evidence and certainly the concentration of Bhaalspawn on the Sword Coast suggests a link to there, perhaps to Calimshaan.

I've found numerous references to Bane having been born on another Prime Material Plane than Toril, so I would favour him being a tiefling or cambion born elsewhere. I can certainly see him arriving on Toril in connection to Narfell, however, though I should want to retain the link with Thurgabanteth in Chondath provided by the Swords of the Iron Legion.

Gary Dallison

Posted - 09 Aug 2018 : 20:43:07 I'm not saying he isn't the Godson, but I also see no reason to state it as fact (yes it is fact in canon but canon has been rewritten several times and this could easily be done and adequately explained). The truth of parentage in medieval times is subjective at best.

If Xvim was not Bane's son he would and likely did gain a lot from claiming to be his son. In my version he is Bane's son (although I've got Bane as a tiefling as well from one of the dynasties of ancient Narfell.

Icelander

Posted - 09 Aug 2018 : 20:10:45 I don't, personally, see any reason to doubt the parentage of Iyachtu Xvim. Ed Greenwood states baldly in Polyhedron #71 that Iyachtu Xvim "the Godson" is the son of Bane and that he has for long years travelled the Realms enacting his father's will.

The way I see deities who achieve godhood from mortal origins is that they often take a long time (if they ever manage it) to learn to divest themselves of their mortal trappings. Giving into lust, siring offspring and even trying to build a dynasty by employing their children as their lieutenants seems entirely in character for deities whose personalities were formed during their mortal lives.

Of course, over time they learn why gods can't think like mortals, but given that mortals have lived for millennia before without progressing past some very basic psychological drives, I don't have any trouble believing that in his first millennia of divine life, Bane occasionally indulged in the kind of shenanigans that a mortal tyrant might pursue.

Gary Dallison

Posted - 09 Aug 2018 : 19:53:26 Good spot, although I'm not convinced there is any connection between Bane and Iyachtu Xvim at that point (except for one or both claiming a paternal link between them). I actually have Bane as still alive right up to his disappearance atop Mount Thulbane but I doubt he ever met Xvim before that point.

It is more likely that Xvim appeared and claimed a kinship with Bane to gain control over a large portion of Banite followers in the region following the sudden disappearance and assumed ascension of Bane. His explanation being that Bane becomes a true god and sends his son to guide his loyal followers to a bright future of tyrannical power.

Xvim then becomes the figurehead of this religion (around 700 DR the religion would split as Banite worship is driven out of the Vilhon so a group head north to Westgate while others head east to Threskel) and over time he becomes part of the mythology of the church of Bane, with his claim of being Bane's son also becoming part of that mythology (whether it's true or not only Iyachtu Xvim would know).

Icelander

Posted - 09 Aug 2018 : 19:46:17 Does anyone know where the Old Church of Bane or the True Church of Bane were centered?

Or who claimed leadership of these factions?

I would think that the Black Lord's Cloak in Mourktar would have been the center of at least one of the recorded schisms in the Banite church, given their apparent independence from the Orthodox Church.

Icelander

Posted - 09 Aug 2018 : 19:24:48 As long as you're tracking the history of Bane in the 8th century, it should probably be kept in mind that Iyachtu Xvim emerged from a gate in Westgate in 710 DR and with an army of fiends and tieflings, seized control of that city. He ruled there until 734 DR.

Gary Dallison

Posted - 09 Aug 2018 : 19:11:48 what difference three or four years makes, back then I was still thinking of gods as humanoid beings with humanoid feelings and motivations, and with a direct interaction and influence on the world.

I agree Stellac Benadi is likely Chondathan, that however means he could have come from the Vilhon Region, the Dragon Coast, Sembia, the Lake of Steam, even Chessenta. I'm pretty sure I read that he went north to the Moonsea to establish an outpost there so I'm veering towards him coming from Vilhon, Chessenta.

It looks like the Dark Churches moved east from the Vilhon around 700 DR and I suspect that is because there was already a following in Chessenta. I have already pegged migration into Chessenta from the Vilhon because of the plagues and the tsunami so there would have been a majority Chondathan population in eastern Chessenta (fuelling the feuding nature of the region in future years), and the potential for warfare leading up to 900 DR (when Tchazzar united Chessenta) means that there may have been enclaves of Chondathans and Banite worship throughout Chessenta.

I have decided on making Mount Thulbane a focal point for Banites and Assurites following battles there around 700 DR, this led to the churches of both religions becoming prominent in Threskel in the following centuries. But all this is homebrew development to fill in the blanks in Chessenta's history.